A Guide to Towers in Prague

I think I’ve said it a million times by now, but there’s nothing like the view over top of a European city. Prague is famous for its red roofs and my biggest priority for my 3 days in the city was to climb as many towers as I could. When I entered my first tower of the trip, the Czech attendant enthusiastically spoke French to me once he learned I was from Canada – it’s so cool to think that we were communicating in each of our second languages. He explained that I could either pay individually for each tower I wanted to climb or pay for a tower pass that gained me admission to 7: after some quick math to make sure it was worth it I purchased a student tower pass. I literally can’t find anything online about this pass, which explains why I had no idea it was an option! There’s very clear signage in several languages inside every tower, though, so just ask for whatever is the best deal for your plans. I visited every tower on my pass, so here’s a guide to towers in Prague!

Mala Strana Bridge Tower

Walking across the Charles Bridge is pretty much on everyone’s must-do list in Prague: it’s truly iconic. I’ve heard it’s crazy crowded in the summer, but as you can see it was relatively empty in January! This was the first tower I climbed, and I seriously took a ridiculous number of pictures….I think I have enough shots of Prague views to last me a lifetime (or at least until my next visit). One side of this tower has the Charles Bridge and the other has the Prague Castle. What more could you want?

The entirety of the Charles Bridge at your feet

Prague Castle stands out from almost any vantage point in the city

I took this picture because I just really want that balcony….can you imagine just bringing your morning coffee up to a rooftop in the heart of Prague??

St. Nicholas’ Church Bell Tower

This one is just a short hop from the Mala Strana side of the Charles Bridge, so I walked over next. It has similar views but also provides a cool shot of the “New Town Square”. This was the site of me bashing my head into the ceiling – such fun. I would probably skip this one in favour of the Mala Strana Bridge unless you have it included on a pass – if you do, why not go up quickly!

Petrin Tower

Now this is an absolute must-do for any visit to Prague. Petrin Tower is the Eiffel Tower look-alike on the big green hill (Petrin Hill) and I could have spent hours here. I recommend taking the funicular from Mala Strana up to the top of the hill – although if you’re more in shape than I am, the walk could be nice in warm weather. In any case, I am a child who finds funiculars endlessly amusing. Once you reach the top, just follow the view of the Eiffel Tower and you’ll be there in a jiffy!

The walk up this tower was seriously challenging, made worse by the fact that I couldn’t stop coughing and felt like crap. Halfway up, I was feeling very bitter about my decision to make the climb, but believe me – the view was so worth it. Just look!

My pass also included admission to the Mirror Maze next door, which was possibly the lamest thing I’ve ever done. It was basically just a pathway with mirrors on the walls. Most of them weren’t even funhouse mirrors…I spent maybe 3 minutes in there wondering why it was supposed to be cool.

Stare Mesto Bridge Tower

If you’re going to go up the New Town Bridge Tower, why not check out the other side! More incredible views to be had here, especially looking toward Mala Strana

The approach to the tower

TV Tower

My second morning in Prague, I felt even worse but was still determined to keep checking sights off my list. I took the metro over to the ugliest building in Prague, the TV Tower, which was super out of the way, kind of expensive and not included on my ticket. The cashier told me one section of the viewing deck was closed for an event, but I’d get a discount, so I took her up on it. When I got up, there was actually only one section open – classic miscommunication! I only spent about ten minutes up there as my only views weren’t that interesting. It’s also hard to get good pictures through the glass!

See the crawling babies? So creepy.

Powder Gate

By this point in the trip, I was barely functioning but I needed to make it to the last place on my list. When I was actually at the top of the Powder Gate, I was not super aware of what was happening, but looking back at the pictures is absolutely incredible! This one is pretty close to the Old Town Square, and as you can see has some stunning views.